Find A Way Home
by BlondieLaFleur
Summary: My take on what could have happend in the last five minutes of the LOST Season 5 Finale and after. Suliet and Jate.
1. Detonated

**Chapter One**

Juliet's breath caught in her throat when she saw Phil pick up a stray gun, aiming straight at the man she loved. She wanted to call out to James, warn him, but it all happened so fast. Her panic vanished as quickly as it came when Phil's body hit the ground, pierced by flying metal. The color of his blood matched the red in her shirt. Juliet took a step closer to him, but a chain struck her petite frame and wrapped violently around her figure. Juliet screamed, but her cries were muffled as her feet jerked from underneath her. As her back slammed into the rocky terrain Juliet tried desperately to hold onto something. She saw Kate running towards her and considered it ironic for her savior to be this woman. This woman she had spent three years feeling insecure about, and it was clear in the moments before the bomb was dropped how much she loved Jack. And James, his eyes had spoken to the deepest places of her soul and she realized how wrong she had been to doubt his devotion. "Help," Juliet pleaded to the freckled brunette as her body was pulled partially into the black abyss.

Juliet could hear the scraping of her fingernails on the metal as she attempted to save herself, and fresh tears stung at the corner of her eyes when the truth about her fate became painfully evident. She was going to die on this island. She'd never see Rachel again, or hold Julian and whisper to him how much she loved him even before she met him. She would never wake up beside James and feel the tickle of his unshaven beard dance across the nape of her neck. It was all over. Juliet stared at Kate with defeated eyes, her hands sliding away from the debris holding her above ground. She waited as her hand released to feel the impact, but to her astonishment she felt a warm hand in hers. "I've got you," his tender voice promised her and Juliet opened her eyes in awe of the man she'd built a life with. "Hold on," he ordered her.

"I can't, I can't pull myself up." She didn't want to cry, God, she wanted to be strong for him. But the fear of losing him consumed her and as the chains pulling her down tightened she screamed out in agony. Her ribs were being crushed inside of her and she brought her hand down to her side, just as she had done in the jungle with Rose and Bernard less than an hour ago. Their child was dying, she was dying, and it wasn't fair. James deserved to have his heart in tact when this was all over with and losing her would suffocate him with guilt. She couldn't tell him he was going to be a father because if the tiny body inside of her was still there it would be crushed when she hit the bottom. Dead on impact with its mother.

Kate tried to help her, but she couldn't reach the chains without falling herself. Juliet smiled at her to indicate it was ok. She didn't hate her, didn't blame Kate for her unhappy ending. "Don't you leave me. I've got you." Juliet watched as the man she wanted to say "I do" to and decorate the nursery with tried to pull her to safety. Tears from his eyes fell onto her dirt stained cheeks and Juliet told him it was ok. She knew she had to let go and stop him from dying with her. She wouldn't let him sacrifice himself. "I love you," she choked out with finality. "I love you James. I love you so much." And then she let go. James' screams of disbelief echoed down the hatch, haunting her as she waited for the darkness to consume her. Juliet felt her body tense, anticipating the impact, but before she could connect with the earth a bright light shot up through the tunnel and the last thing she imagined was James' face before time altered and everything changed. Everything.


	2. Save Us

**Chapter Two**

"You were doing surgery on a girl and you messed up," Kate's shaky voice recounted to Jack through the walkie-talkie Juliet had handed her. She continued to repeat the story Jack had told her the first time she stitched him up on the island as a hidden figure struggled to regain consciousness less than fifty feet away in the jungle. The blond woman was concealed by numerous tree branches and she woke with a start, coughing blood onto her scratched up hands. Juliet winced as she attempted to move, her entire body aching. She laid there trying to remember how she got here. Visions of Sawyer screaming for her to stay with him clouded her mind and she felt her hand instantly jerk to her stomach. A light had gone off…the bomb had detonated. But how did she remember all of it? If Jack's plan worked she should be in 2004 with no recollection of James or this baby she was carrying. Juliet sat up slowly and that's when she heard it, her own voice commanding, "Not you Alex. You stay." Slowly rising to her feet, Juliet limped towards the edge of the jungle and peered through the leaves surrounding her face, watching as history repeated itself. She saw Sawyer and Kate climbing into a boat and leaving the island while her past self watched quietly before leading Alex back to Ben. Back to her personal hell on earth. Juliet wanted to yell for James, run to him, but he was in love with Kate. He didn't know her and if she ran into the old her who knew what repercussions could occur. Juliet wondered if she had gone back to this day, where was James? Kate? Jack? Even if they had all survived she was back to being alone. Juliet released a gentle sob of defeat, but her tears ceased when she felt the slightest movement pressing up against her abdomen. She felt herself smiling despite the hopelessness of the situation. Her baby, their baby, was alive. He or she was ok and as Juliet allowed that truth to settle in she felt an unexplainable calm wash over her. As it always was with Juliet and happiness, that peace was shattered the second she felt a stabbing pain in her side. She doubled over, screaming as she realized the injuries she'd suffered from the chains were still present.

She had to find help. She had to save this child. If she never saw James again, this was all she had left of him. This baby was a testament of the love they shared and she could not lose it. Despite her mounting discomfort Juliet began to run. She ran despite the sensation of a thousand needles penetrating her stomach. She had to find him…she had to find Jack.

**[Flash to 2008]**

James' sobs racked his entire body, and it was all he could do to keep breathing. She had left him. The one person who had really seen him his entire life was gone. Sawyer could hear Jack and Kate repeating his name, but he couldn't open his eyes to their pity. "Juliet…" he whispered. "Juliet." Her name sounded right and perfect coming from his mouth, and how could someone so right be dead? He had just been holding her hand in the sub, telling her how much he loved her. Her gorgeous smile had made his heart skip a beat and then Kate had shown up. Jack's plan to turn back time and reset their destiny took over and now the woman he'd woken up next to for the past three years was dead.

"Sawyer, open your eyes! Where are we, Jack?" Kate's confusion slowly brought Sawyer back from the brink as he opened his eyes only to see that the hatch and Dharma workers were nowhere to be seen. He, Jack, and Kate were back at their old camp on the beach. The plane had still crashed. Sawyer looked for her immediately but that familiar blond hair was nowhere in his line of vision. Sawyer pulled away from Kate's embrace and began to run down the beach, searching. When he didn't find her he changed course into the jungle. She had to have flashed with them. She had to be alive.

"Sawyer!" Jack's voice called after him. Kate's pleas soon followed. They told him she wasn't here, that he had to stop. Sawyer did stop, but only to tell the pair to leave him be. The doc and freckles could do whatever the hell they wanted to but he was finding Juliet. She was probably hurt, that's why she wasn't answering him. If he found her he could help her, kiss her and tell her how she shouldn't scare him that way. They had each other's backs, always. "Look, she ain't gone. I feel her…the bomb went off. It wouldn't protect us and not her."

Kate exchanged a sympathetic glance with Jack and Sawyer released a frustrated growl of anger. Why didn't no one think he knew what he was talking about? "Come on!" Sawyer yelled. "I have never asked this damn island for anything, but I'm asking you to help me find her. Jacob, Ben, Santa…whoever the hell is in charge of this island! I want her back!"

**[Flash to 2006]**

Juliet waited outside the operating area, waited until her past self walked out of the building and away from Jack in tears before doing what she had to do. Juliet slammed her fist into the jaw of the former her, watching as she hit the ground. Juliet dragged herself into the woods and switched clothes, knowing she didn't have much time. The pain was unbearable and she hadn't felt the baby kick since back on the beach. She stumbled into the building just as Jack walked into the hallway. His expression changed from curiosity to alarm as he saw Juliet double over. "Jack," she demanded. "You have…have to help me. You have to help my baby." Jack put his arms around Juliet to support her and asked what had happened. Why hadn't she told him she was pregnant? "I can't, I'll explain later…please Jack." Her eyes were moist with tears as she felt her defense system shutting down. "Save us," was the last request she gave before collapsing in Jack's arms.


	3. What lies ahead?

**Chapter Three**

Sawyer stood in the same place for ten minutes, waiting for something to happen. He'd expected something to occur after he'd challenged the island. The smoke monster, Benjamin Linus, Locke, Jacob…a polar bear, something!

"Sawyer," Kate addressed him carefully. Her heart had broken for him when he lost Juliet and she didn't want to upset him further but they had to leave. Sayid, Hurley, Jin, and the others had probably flashed with them and the sooner they found out if they we're all back in the same year again, the better. Kate glanced at Jack for some help with the situation but he just shook his head. None of them were prepared for such a loss. "Sawyer, she wouldn't want you to do this to yourself."

Kate winched, knowing she had chosen the wrong words but her comment did manage to get Sawyer's attention. "How the hell would you know what she would want Kate?"

"I know that she loved you, so much…and she would want you safe. If we stay here, who knows what could happen. We have to find everyone else, help those that are…" she trailed off with a frown.

"Those that are still among the living, freckles?"

"Sawyer, I'm sorry. I didn't…"

James put a hand up to stop her, his shoulders lowering in defeat. "I know you didn't. Lets just get moving."

Kate nodded, allowing Sawyer to walk in front of her and Jack as they headed in the direction of the hatch. It was the best place to start searching for answers. Jack was quiet the entire time and Kate considered he too was mourning the loss of Juliet. Before they'd left the island three years ago Jack had felt something for Juliet. It was understandable that he'd grieve. "I'm going to miss her too," Kate whispered. She and the blond hadn't gotten off on the wrong foot in the beginning, but they had grown to have a mutual respect for one another.

"That's not what I was thinking about. I mean, I was but…there's more to it."

Kate stopped, staring into Jack's eyes the way she had seconds before he'd dropped the bomb down the hatch. "What were you thinking?"

Jack shifted nervously, reaching out his hand to intertwine his fingers with Kate's. "I was thinking how it could have been you. If I had lost you back there I…."

Kate drew a shaky breath, Jack's confession causing her to tear up. "I'm not going anywhere."

Jack nodded, his face mere inches from Kate's. He started to lean in and so did she when Sawyer's southern draw broke the spell. "Hugo!"

Jack and Kate shared one last look before running in Sawyer's direction. When they reached him they saw Miles, Hurley, and Sayid twenty feet in front of them. Except, Sayid wasn't moving and their was a somber mood in the air. Much the same as when Juliet had been sucked down into the hatch. "What happened?" Jack asked.

"He didn't make it," Miles confirmed. "He lost too much blood. He was gone before the flash."

Sawyer shook his head, angry with Jack for his stupid plan. If they hadn't gotten off that damn sub Sayid and Juliet would still be breathing. Hell, he'd be halfway to freedom with the woman he loved if God forsaken destiny or whatever Locke and Jack called it hadn't come a'knockin.

"Dude, where's Juliet?" Hurley asked, looking behind Jack and Kate expectantly. When their oversized friend Saw the sadness in Sawyer's expression his head fell. "Oh." Hugo kicked at the dirt in front of him, memories of losing Libby rushing back to the surface. This island kept taking people from them and it didn't make any sense. "So, uh…what do we do now?"

**[Flashback to 2006]**

None of this made since to Jack. Juliet hadn't mentioned anything about a pregnancy before. She was in the operating room while he was opening up Ben from behind and the blood hadn't effected her at all. Not all expecting women had fainting spells, but still. Jack barely knew this woman and he wasn't sure yet if he trusted her, but the child inside of her deserved a fair chance. Not that Jack understood how Juliet would survive if he did help her. Hadn't she told him she was brought here to stop pregnant women from dying on this island? If Juliet had conceived a baby of her own here how did she think the outcome would be any different?

After a half hour of carefully stitching and medicating Juliet's injuries, Jack was able to stabilize her. That was another mystery - She had walked away from him in tears but perfectly healthy. Not even five minutes later she was wounded. Had the others turned on her? He had so many questions for her when she woke up. Which happened sooner than he'd anticipated. The anesthetics he'd used must not have been strong enough.

"James," Juliet moaned. "James…" Jack frowned, not sure who she was asking for. He'd met no James since his captivity in Otherville. Sawyer's real name was James but Juliet had only met him once and she'd help a gun to him and Kate at the time. "It's Jack," he told her as Juliet's eyes opened and focused on his figure standing above her. "Try to stay still."

Juliet inhaled slowly, calming her body the best she could. "Is the baby…"

"You're both ok."

Juliet managed a small smile through the pain and thanked Jack for helping her. "You're welcome. But because I helped you, you're going to tell me what just happened."

Juliet was silent, unsure of how she was going to get herself out of this one. Her mind raced to her past self lying unconscious in the jungle a near half hour ago and she wondered if she'd woken up yet. Juliet had to find a way out of here before she was discovered. "I…"

Jack looked down at her expectantly, unwilling to relent. And to make matters worse he continued his interrogation by asking her another question she couldn't answer. "And who the hell is James?"


	4. She's alive

**Chapter Four**

"I said whose James, Juliet?"

Juliet had heard him the first time but she wasn't sure what answer to give. Clearly, the truth was not going to work in this situation. She could pretend she didn't realize she was calling out anyone's name, but Jack was staring at her with such intensity that she knew he wouldn't buy her confusion act.

"He's the father of this baby," she answered finally. Jack nodded his head and sat down beside Juliet on her makeshift bed, unwilling to leave it at that. He was so goddamn stubborn sometimes.

"Is he one of you…one of your people, I mean? I haven't heard you mention him."

Juliet lifted herself up onto her elbows despite Jack's concerned glance and rested one hand on her stomach with a sad, distant smile.

"It doesn't matter anymore. He's…he's gone."

Juliet didn't want Jack's pity but if it would cause him to stop interrogating her she would accept it. As the quiet settled in around them Jack told Juliet she should rest. They could talk more when she woke up again. Something about Jack's demeanor made Juliet uneasy. She had a sinking feeling Jack was going to somehow use this child as a bargaining chip for his freedom. If he breathed a word of this pregnancy to Ben there would be consequences and Jack was wise enough to realize Juliet couldn't let her secret be unveiled.

Seconds after her eyes closed Jack's voice rang out. "What the hell?"

Juliet let one eye show, careful not to let Jack see she was watching him. Her eye glanced through the glass opening in the door to see her past self running down the hall with a sour expression. Moving her arm carefully, Juliet latched onto the lamp by her bedside. Just as she'd gotten her grip Jack's head jerked towards her. "What are you -"

Juliet slammed the lamp into the side of Jack's head, watching as he hit the ground with sickening thud. "Sorry Jack." Juliet stepped over his fallen form and exited the building just in time to hear alarms sounding off in the community the Others had established for themselves.

An intruder has infiltrated our living corridors. Stay inside.

Juliet shuddered at the sound of her own voice over the intercom. She had to get out of there and fast. If someone saw that there was two of her, well, she didn't want to consider the consequences.

**[Flash to 2008]**

"Um, guys…what are we doing?" Hurley's voice repeated to the group. "Jack's plan was a bust so…"

Jack lowered his head, the guilt already weighing down on him. He had cost Sayid and Juliet their lives and for what? Their plane had still crashed. "I guess we…"

Jack paused mid-sentence, his face shuffling back and forth between confusion and disbelief. Suddenly, he was having visions of Juliet in his head. Memories of performing a minor surgery, a baby, it didn't make any sense at all.

"Jack," Kate's concerned voice rang out. "What is it?"

"Juliet," he finally managed to get out.

Sawyer, who was busying himself digging a grave for Sayid, froze and looked up at Jack with a pained expression. "What did you say?"

Jack shook his head, not really sure of anything he'd just seen. It was all there in his mind, clear as day. Juliet calling out to James and holding her stomach. And that shirt, the same red shirt she was wearing hours ago. "I think, I think she's alive."

"What the hell are you talking about Doc?" Sawyer stood up, quickening his pace towards Jack. Before he could stop himself he slammed his body up against a nearby tree, caught between complete devastation and unrelenting hope. "What are you tying to do to me?"

"Sawyer, let him go," Kate demanded.

"I saw her. Sawyer, I remembered her…a conversation that wasn't there before."

Kate looked back and forth between Jack and Sawyer, desperate for answers.

"What do you mean you had a conversation with her?"

"In the past. I think the bomb sent her back to 2006."

James released Jack's shirt collar, pacing back and forth in frustration. None of it made any sense. "You're telling me that damn bomb put us here and trapped her back in Otherville? Alone…" His last word was laced with sadness. He had promised Juliet he'd always have her back, that she wouldn't end up by herself ever again. He'd broken that promise. The island had broken it for him.

"No, not alone." Jack answered with uncertainty. "She's pregnant, Sawyer."


	5. Decisions

**Chapter Five**

"I think that last time shift mangled your brain, Doc" Sawyer wanted to trust what he was saying, that Jules was alive, but a baby?

"I know it doesn't make any sense, but I saw her. Or my past self did." Jack shook his head as he tried to piece everything together. He had memories of Juliet asking him to save her child, doing a surgery and hearing her moan for James. It was too real to ignore.

"She would've told me…" Sawyer stated in a matter of fact tone. "She would've told me we were gonna have a kid."

"Unless she didn't know," Kate ventured. In actuality, she thought Juliet would have had a pretty good idea she was expecting. You didn't work with pregnant women your entire life only to ignore signs from your own body. Juliet had kept quiet to lessen Sawyer's pain when she fell down that shaft. Kate had seen a deep sadness rooted in Juliet's features just before she let go of Sawyer's hand and now it all made sense. At the time Kate assumed she was mourning over the loss of James, but if she had known about their child…those tears were a mother's sorrow. A clear indication that she had failed her unborn son or daughter.

"It don't make any sense," Sawyer responded. Nothing on this damn island did. As the shock wore off, determination took over his scruffy face. "We gotta find a way back. We gotta help her."

Jack couldn't argue with his friend, but nothing in Faraday's journal indicated there was a way to reverse the bomb's effects. "I don't know how."

Stepping forward, Hurley stared Jack down. "Dude, you've been leading us since day one…"

It was true. Never once had Jack Shepard quit. The word hadn't been in his vocabulary after their plane had crashed, but that was before he'd found a way off the island. Before the drugs and the alcohol. Before he knew what it felt like to fail.

"Count to five," Kate demanded.

"Um, I don't think this is the time for a math lesson," Miles interjected from the shadows.

"Shut up ghost buster," Sawyer spat out. He didn't know what the hell Kate was playing at but he trusted her.

"One…two…" Kate started for him, her eyes locking with Jack's. Complete faith rested in her gaze and Jack felt his body relax as he followed her lead.

"Three, four, five." Jack closed his eyes, needing a few seconds to gather his thoughts. Once he had the answer came all to easily. "We've got to find Locke," he stated.

"What's Locke going to do?" Hurley asked the obvious question.

"He's going to take us to Jacob," Jack responded confidently. "Lets go."

**------- [Flash to 2006]--------**

Juliet had been walking through the jungle for the past hour, exhausted and sore from her recent procedure. The stitches Jack had made across her abdomen were tight, but she could feel the edges of her skin threatening to rip apart if she wasn't careful. "It's ok baby," Juliet cooed to her stomach. "I'm going to get us out of this mess."

Truth be told, Juliet didn't know where to start looking for answers. Her instincts had led her to an abandoned boat on the shore, but she was in no condition to row. For a brief instant she had convinced herself she could go to the Oceanic flight 815 camp for help. But then what? Sawyer didn't know her and she couldn't allow herself to see how he was with Kate. Her heart couldn't take it.

As Juliet sat on the beach defeated, she failed to notice the man staring at her from the jungle's edge. It wasn't until a stick broke, indicating his arrival, that she took a fighting stance.

"It's just me, Juliet."

She shivered at the icy coolness of his voice. She had been a fool to believe she was free from his control these past three years. Benjamin Linus always had a way of finding her.

"Ben," she responded with a forced smile. If he was here with her now, that must mean he was unaware there were two Juliet's on the island. Survival mode kicked in full force as the weary blond realized what she had to do. "The sub coming tonight, I need to get on it."

Ben walked closer to her, almost laughing. His curiosity kept him from telling her no instantly. "And why do you think I would let you leave?"

Juliet sighed, her eyes looking down to her stomach before she looked back up at him. "Because I'm pregnant, Ben. And I'm going to die just like every other woman whose died on this island if you keep me here."


	6. Everything Changes

**Chapter Six:**

Juliet attempted to side step the figure in front of her only to find her efforts useless. Ben's body stood strong, moving to match each step she took. He refused to let her leave this island, leave him. He hadn't spoken since her pregnancy was revealed, nor had he shown any emotion with his features. Juliet was beginning to think he hadn't heard her. That, or he didn't believe a word she had said. Perhaps he saw this as a scheme of hers to get off the island? She didn't care what the hell he thought anymore. All she knew was that she had to protect this child inside of her no matter what the cost.

"Ben, did you hear me? I can't stay here."

Juliet saw the man who had plagued her nightmares for years reach for something in his pocket, but it wasn't until she heard the sickening click of the gun that the fear began to suffocate her. He was going to kill her and this child. She never should have told him. What had she been thinking? Juliet should have known better than to trust that Benjamin Linus could ever have her best interests at heart. He had once claimed to love her, even gone as far as to scream that she was his. Juliet was nothing more than a possession in his eyes. If Ben couldn't control her then she was of no use to him. The reality of her situation with this man was truly heartbreaking.

"Ben, what are you doing?" Juliet asked as she slowly backed away from the furious man in front of her. She needed to think of a way to calm him down before the situation turned from bad to worse. "We can talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about Juliet," Ben replied in a vicious, yet well controlled tone. "You were never suppose to be with him…with Sawyer."

Past insecurities filtered to the front of Juliet's thoughts, and she opened her mouth to argue but no words came. She had told herself the same thing every night for the first year she and James were together. He wasn't meant to be with her. He belonged with Kate and as always, she was alone. Frowning, Juliet allowed her inward demons to mock her before a light went off. Thinking back to the exact moment she'd confessed her secret to Ben, Juliet realized that she hadn't mentioned James' name once. Sifting through the events of today's date, Juliet remembered that Ben should be recovering from surgery right now. Her crystal blue eyes widened as she scanned his body for signs of a scalpel entrance, a bandage maybe. There was nothing.

"Ben," she repeated carefully, though Juliet was now convinced that this man was not Ben. "Just let me go." As the figure before her began to move, there was no limp or visible signs of pain present in its outlining. Juliet realized as she inched backwards into the unknown that she was dealing with forces much darker than her former obsessor. Ben was only scratching the surface of the evil that inhabited this island.

Juliet felt her body stiffen in denial as she glanced from side to side, desperate for an escape. It took her only a few short moments to realize she was cornered. Ben grabbed her wrists tightly, slamming Juliet against the bark of a nearby tree before she could even blink. She winced as his nails dug into her flesh, his dark eyes boring into her with unforgivable rage.

"You're hurting me," she was able to get out. "Please…"

Whoever was holding her, whatever was holding her, was not giving up its hold. Juliet closed her eyes, as if that would somehow stop this horrible event from ever happening. She imagined herself back in Dharmaville with James, laughing over a card game with Horace and Amy. They would have drank a few beers and retired to their house later on, making love until the sun came up (as they often did). This little one was proof of that. She held onto the memory of their love as a darkness took shape over her. The smoke swirled around her slowly, coloring her entire world black. The pain and regret of past mistakes began to take shape, causing Juliet to cry out in despair.

"Stop it!" she shouted out, her once strong voice cracking at the edges. "Stop!" Visions of Rachel, of Ben and Goodwin and the pregnant women she hadn't been able to save filled her mind. She saw herself revealing Sun's affair, killing one of the Others to help Kate and Sawyer. She was being judged by the island.

"Now," a dark voice boomed. "It's been decided."

And as the voice grew silent, Juliet Burke began to die.

**--------- [Flash forward] ----------**

Sawyer walked beside Jack, matching him step for step with thoughts of Juliet consuming him entirely. The woman he had built a life with, the only person he had ever given himself to entirely was still alive? They were going to have a child together? For once since their damn plane had crashed Sawyer was more than ready to find John Locke. The old man would finally be of some use to him.

"Where they at Jack-o?" Sawyer asked impatiently. They had been walking for a good hour and their destination had yet to be disclosed to the group.

"The shadow of the statue," Kate whispered in Sawyer's ear to shut him up.

"Is that suppose to mean something to me Freckles?"

Kate smiled despite the intensity of their situation. "Meant something to Locke," she confided. "Miles told Jack Locke talked a lot in his sleep when you were left behind…"

"Seemed important," Miles interjected from behind the pair.

The three of them grew silent the moment Jack stopped, pointing straight up. They raised their eyes to the sky to see a large, half broken statue casting a shadow over the trees.

"That where the wizard is?" Hurley asked, only to be met with curious stares. "Y'know, Jacob." Hurley shrugged, attempting to catch his breath. When they got off the island this time he was losing some weight.

"That's where Jacob is," Jack announced. "I'm sure of it."

Sawyer pushed past the good doctor, not wasting any time. He wanted Juliet back in his arms and the sooner, the better. "Come on," he demanded as he ran towards the base of the statue. He didn't bother to knock and see if anyone was home. Ignoring Jack and Kate's warnings to approach slowly, Sawyer entered the figure at full speed, slamming straight into the chest of a man dressed in a long white robe. John Locke he was not. Then it had to be...

"I've been expecting you," the man confirmed. "I'm Jacob."

The group gathered around him, silent for a moment. This was the Jacob Benjamin Linus had spoken of? The ruler of the island Locke claimed he was destined to meet? Recognition dawned on Kate, Hurley, Jack, and Sawyer's faces as the four realized this was not the first time they had met this man.

"Listen yoda, I don't have time to ask you why the hell you were at my parent's funeral or why you still look fit as a fiddle and I got wrinkles forming. I need you to bring Juliet back."

Jacob formed a thoughtful expression, sitting on a rock close by as he listened to the request brought before him. "She's where she needs to be, James."

Sawyer frowned, not understanding the riddle. He didn't have time to play games. "She ain't with me, so you're wrong."

"If I bring her back, it won't be what you think." Jacob could sense that Juliet was dying in the year she was trapped, and that the child inside of her was suffering too. It would be her life and her son's life that ended the pregnancy problem once and for it. A sacrifice that the island demanded. The past Juliet would remain, find a way off the island to Rachel and Julian but never to James. To end the process, to resurrect her now, would put an end to the destiny she was called to.

"She's doing what needs to be done…" Jacob tried to explain, but Sawyer refused to hear his excuses.

"I SAID BRING HER BACK!!!"

Jacob sighed, knowing he couldn't deny the request but it would change everything.

"Are you sure you…"

"Now damn it!"

Jacob nodded, making eye contact with Sawyer once last time before he set a new destiny in motion.

"So be it."


End file.
